NYC businesses won't get notice before coronavirus reopening day
'We're not going to tell people the day in advance,' Mayor Bill de Blasio said
Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday the city will not notify its business owners in advance of reopening in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, saying people will instead find out when it happens.
De Blasio was asked during his daily morning press briefing if he knew specifically when Phase 1 of reopening would begin for the Big Apple and if he would give business owners notice when it was approaching. He previously told reporters he expected the process to start within the first two weeks of June and would not get more specific on Thursday.
“Every business that’s paying attention knows it’s coming, get ready for it. And as I said, we’re going to do all these types of outreach and provide a lot of support, but we’re not going to tell people the day in advance,” de Blasio said just over 30 minutes into the briefing. “The day it happens is the day the numbers tell us we’re there, and then everyone would be authorized to move forward and we will all work together to get it done.”
SMALL BUSINESSES SHUTTERED BY CORONAVIRUS CAN TURN TO THESE STATE-BY-STATE RESOURCES
But the day-of announcement will be no help to certain kinds of businesses, such as restaurants that will need to stock up on food and call their staff back to work, or in some cases, hire new people. Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, said restaurants are in critical need of “concrete details of what they can expect” when the time comes.
“We understand the health metrics are going to determine when restaurants are permitted to reopen,” he told FOX Business. “What restaurants need is guidance in advance, so they can plan for the reopening.”
CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS EASE ACROSS AMERICA
Rigie said he’s seen some of the guidance that the city has put out so far but noted that there are certain specifics that they’re still waiting for.
Questions surrounding reduced occupancy, social distancing guidelines and personal protective equipment requirements remain, among others, he said.
“What are they going to have to purchase? How many New Yorkers do they need to hire back to work?" he said. "All of the details are critically important to allow restaurants to open up in the most efficient way possible so they hopefully can sustain their restaurants for the long term.”
People walk past Peter Luger steak house in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn during the coronavirus pandemic on May 9, 2020, in New York City. (Rob Kim/Getty Images)
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
What they need, he continued, was information crucial to planning for reopening, so that when the time comes, restaurants are ready.
“We understand the public health aspect but we also have the economic health aspect. “There’s so much uncertainty around business owners.”
City officials are waiting to reopen until the number of reported COVID-19 cases continues to hold steady or progress further, de Blasio said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
New York City is the only jurisdiction in the state that has not met Gov. Andrew Cuomo's guidelines for the first phase of New York's four-part reopening process, including having enough contact tracers to monitor people exposed to the virus. Phase 1 will include the resumption of construction, manufacturing and retail with curbside pickup.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.